Draft:John A. Wessels
---- John A. Wessels John A. Wessels (born 1962 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is Deputy Secretary1 for Overseas Operations at the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an independent US Government agency with staff and facilities in 16 countries worldwide. He started his Federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has led diverse teams and multi-billion dollar programs domestically and internationally, and has over three decades of leadership and global operations experience as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). Wessels was also given a Direct Commission as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Navy and served eight years in the USNR concurrent with his Federal civilian service. Since 1997 Wessels has been an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science and Business Information Systems for Regis University in Denver, Colorado where he’s twice won awards for Excellence in Teaching. EDUCATION John A. Wessels John A. Wessels (born 1962 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is Deputy Secretary. American Battle Monuments Commission|website=www.abmc.gov|access-date=2017-10-17}} for Overseas Operations at the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an independent US Government agency with staff and facilities in 16 countries worldwide. He started his Federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has led diverse teams and multi-billion dollar programs domestically and internationally, and has over three decades of leadership and global operations experience as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). Wessels was also given a Direct Commission as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Navy and served eight years in the USNR concurrent with his Federal civilian service. Since 1997 Wessels has been an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science and Business Information Systems for Regis University in Denver, Colorado where he has twice won awards for Excellence in Teaching. EDUCATION Master of Science Carnegie-Mellon University, Heinz School of Public Policy Public Management, Finance and Policy Analysis. Earned: 1985 Master of Science Regis University, College of Professional Studies Computer Information Systems (w/Highest Honors) Earned: 1996 Certificate Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow 2005 CAREER ● Selected as Presidential Management Fellow (1985) for Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Assigned as Management Analyst and then Budget Examiner for $4Billion Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing (FHEO) and Community Development Programs (CDBG/UDAG). Also lead OMB analyst for Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and Enterprise Zone programs. Staff analyst to two Presidential Councils: Inspectors General (PCIE) and Management (PCMI). Co-led highly successful OMB project to consolidate myriad Department of Defense (DoD) payroll systems. OMB special merit award. ● National Institute of Standards and Technology, Physics Laboratory(1990). Administrative Officer for Time and Frequency Division. Supervised multi-million dollar appropriated and classified R&D budget and all support staff. Promoted several times at NIST, and to Supervisory Computer Scientist (1996) where he continued to manage Physics R&D budget and administration while developing early adaptations of TCP/IP timekeeping for network synchronization in support of USAF GPS satellite constellation (unclassified). NIST Sustained Superior Performance award. ● Wessels joined the US Department of the Interior/National Parks Service (NPS) in 2000 as Regional Comptroller and then was promoted to Associate Regional Director for Administration/Chief Information Officer in 2006. Selected for the Senior Executive Service (2010) as Director of the Intermountain Region, responsible for an appropriated budget of $1B and 6,000 staff spread across 8 states and 94 national parks, serving 43million visitors each year. He was the Administration’s front-line representative to 52 members of Congress and 8 Governors for all issues related to parks, resource protection, land use and conservation across the Rocky Mountain region. Twice invited to testify in front of Congressional panels. Received NPS Superior Service award, and Secretary of Interior conferred Meritorious Service Award in 2013 ● Recruited to be Deputy Secretary, ABMC, in 2013 by Hon. Max Cleland (former US Senator; Director, Veterans Administration; and Secretary of State (GA) Responsible for all OCONUS Overseas Operations. Credentialed as a diplomat, Wessels focus is political interface with host-nation and US Embassy U.S. Embassy & Consulates in France|date=2017-01-10|work=U.S. Embassy & Consulates in France|access-date=2018-02-11|language=en-US}}, operational leadership and decision making directing US and locally employed staff working around the world. ABMC has a presence on four continents - current priority emphasis areas are staff and facility security, new construction, and relevancy/relationships to host-nations ● Adjunct Professor (1997 - present) Professor of Computer Science and Business Information Systems for Regis University in Denver. He teaches undergraduate and graduate-level courses in management, information systems and ethics. Faculty award for Excellence in Teaching: 2002, 2009